


Message to Mine

by heartsfilthylesson



Category: The Fall (TV)
Genre: F/F, Post Series 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 17:51:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4531395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsfilthylesson/pseuds/heartsfilthylesson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stella hums and doesn’t tell her that she considered ignoring her brief text --<i>will be in London for a few days. Want to have dinner? </i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Sorry I’m late.” Reed wears a bright red blouse and an apologetic smile. They both suit her quite well. She lingers by the table for a few uncomfortable seconds before bending down to kiss Stella’s cheek. The gesture surprises her but she does not flinch.“Mum wasn’t keen on letting me go before supper.”

“Not a problem,” Stella says and takes a sip of red wine. It’s too heavy, too bitter but she drinks it anyway. She will need the alcohol tonight. They both will.

Reed takes the seat across from her and picks at a corner of the menu. She shifts in the chair and orders a glass of chardonnay.

The conversation is stilted, filled with long pauses and perfunctory questions. A seven o’clock briefing on life after Paul Spector. Their meeting carries all the discomfort of a first date and none of the levity of old friends catching up. Stella reminds herself it’s neither and wonders if coming here was a mistake.

“So,” Reed starts after their food’s been served -- salmon for her and ribeye for Stella. “This is weird.” An awkward laugh spills forth from her lips before her expression sobers. She almost looks embarrassed.

Stella watches her push lettuce about her plate before cutting into her steak.The red of the corded flesh is bright against the stark white of the plate. It matches Reed’s shirt. “Yes,” she concedes after too much time has passed, “a bit.”

Her admission sends some of the uneasiness away and they eat in silence broken only by cutlery and glass. At the end of the meal, they argue over the tab. Reed settles it with a triumphant smile.

“I didn’t think you’d write back.” Reed stuffs her hands into her pockets and follows Stella out of the crowded restaurant. Stella hums and doesn’t tell her that she considered ignoring her brief text _\--will be in London for a few days. Want to have dinner?_  Instead, she hands her ticket to the valet and asks Reed if she’d like a lift.

“I’m staying at the Montague.”

Stella turns to face her, a single blonde eyebrow raised. “Not Croydon?”

“Not Croydon,” she echoes and avoids Stella’s questioning stare.

Thursday night traffic is heavy and slow-moving. Stella taps her fingers against the steering way, a telling sign of her growing edginess. She stills her hands and turns on the radio.

She doesn’t recognise the song but Reed hums along and mutters something about her daughters playing it constantly at home. “Taylor Swift's new--"

"Ah," Stella interrupts and catches her eye in the rear-view mirror. “Would you like to have a drink?”  

“Yes,” Reed breathes and Stella thinks she sounds relieved.

 

\---

 

They find a spot near the corner, a plush booth that reminds Stella a bit too much of her Belfast hotel lobby bar. Her thoughts drift to Reed’s thigh warm against hers and Reed’s mouth and what almost happened but didn’t.

There is little to talk about so they drink in silence. Stella asks for a whiskey sour and Reed gets something colourful, a deceptively innocent cocktail with too much alcohol.  

“This is a bit ridiculous.” Reed turns to face Stella, a bit of red creeping up her neck and cheeks, before continuing.  “I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this.”

Stella raises an eyebrow and watches Reed spear a maraschino cherry with a stirrer. She bites it, her tongue darting out to lick juice off her lips; Stella can’t look away. The pretty flush across Reed’s face deepens when she notices.  

“Alright. Okay,” Reed begins, drumming her fingers on the table once, twice, before she catches herself. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Oh?”

“We’re friends. Sort of.” Reed finishes the last of her fruity drink and pushes the empty glass away.  “But I don’t think about kissing my other friends.”

Stella can’t keep the surprise off her face.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Reed announces, reaching for Stella’s hand. She squeezes her fingers once and presses their mouths together. It’s soft, a mere brush of lips. She pulls back and smiles before kissing her again.

She tastes like sugar and alcohol, warm and sweet


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It only took forever.

They wait for the lift standing side by side, arms brushing, eyes fixed on the changing floor numbers. It still feels very much like that night at the Merchant and Stella half expects Reed to offer another crummy excuse, to tell her she’s got an almost ex-husband and two little girls, a family,in Belfast, but nothing comes.

It’s a long, silent ride to the tenth floor. Reed taps her foot with the elevator music, hands restless at her side. Stella doesn’t recognise the song.

It takes Reed three tries to insert the key card. She swings the door open with an embarrassed smile, motioning for Stella to step in first.

“So,” Stella says, turning around and backing Reed against the door. “Here we are.” Reed licks her lips. “Yeah.”

Stella runs her fingers along Reed’s collarbones, along her neck. Her touch is light, exploratory, and Reed shivers beneath it, her gaze darting between Stella’s eyes and lips. She reaches for Reed’s ponytail, pulling on the elastic and letting dark hair fall about her shoulders.

“Lovely,” Stella tells her, slightly out of breath, twisting a strand of dark hair between her fingers. And then she leans closer, covering Reed's mouth with hers.

It's not the first time they kiss. She's already familiar with the softness of Reed's lips, with the warmth of her tongue against her own, but where Reed was surprised and vaguely uncertain before, she’s now nervously enthusiastic. Her hands linger on the swell of Stella’s hip before travelling upward, reaching beneath soft silk to find skin.

Stella breaks the kiss and smiles at Reed, flushed and breathless and beautiful. “Here we are,” she says again,grasping the hem of Reed’s blouse and tugging it up and over her head. She kisses Reed’s jaw, her neck, her shoulders as she unhooks her simple black bra, sliding it down her arms and tossing it across the room. It falls near the foot of the bed.

She guides Reed’s hands to the buttons of her own shirt. They work them together until it falls near Reed’s blood red blouse on the carpeted floor. She brushes Stella’s already hardened nipples through the white lace of her bra, the featherlight touch enough to make her moan.

She kisses Reed again and slips a hand past the waistband of her trousers. Stella touches through damp knickers before pushing them aside and thrusting a finger inside her. She eases in another then, her thumb rubbing circles on Reed’s clit. Stella can feel she’s already close.

“I need to taste you,” she says, lips brushing Reed’s ear, and withdraws her fingers. A frustrated sigh leaves Reed’s lip even as she shivers.

Stella kisses down Reed’s throat, between her breasts, licking skin until she’s kneeling in front of her. She grabs Reed’s trousers and underwear and tugs down. They pool at her feet; Reed steps out of them on unsteady legs.

She traces the scar on Reed’s lower belly with the tip of her tongue before moving down, before licking and sucking, before sliding in one finger, then another. Reed’s hip buck under Stella’s mouth and hands. Her breathy curses make Stella wetter and she touches herself lightly to relieve some of the pressure.

“Stella. Fuck,” she says and then she’s coming. There’s a thud when the back of Reed’s head hits the wall and Stella rises quickly.

“Shit.” Stella looks at her, a bit worried. You alright?”

Reed hums, catching her breath. “Yes,” she says and grabs Stella by the jaw, bringing her closer. “But I want to taste too.”

 _God_ is all Stella can say. Reed’s tongue touches hers, hands hovering over the unzipped front of Stella’s trousers.

“That was bold of me,” she says and laughs. “You’d reckon I know what I’m doing.”

Stella smiles. “You’re doing just fine.”

“Fine isn’t enough.” Reed places her hands on Stella’s shoulders and pushes. They move together until the back of Stella’s legs hit the king sized bed. “Take them off,” she says, pointing at her pants. “Please.”. Stella’s quick to comply.

“You’ve still got your bra on.”

“Oh.” Stella reaches for the front clasp but Reed shakes her head.

“Let me,” she says, unhooking it and tossing it aside.

They get in bed, on their sides and facing each other. Reed just looks at her for a long time, and Stella is half-tempted to get herself off right there but then Reed’s hand is on her. The touch is light and unsure at first, then she presses harder. A single finger rubs her clit, then it slips down and inside.

“More,” Stella hisses, licking at Reed’s mouth as she slides in another finger. Her hips ease up and down on Reed’s hand and she’s _so _close. But it’s not enough. Her hand brushes Reed’s when she reaches down and circles her clit. A few more strokes and she comes with Reed’s name on her lips.__

She finds Reed’s staring again when she opens her eyes. “What?”

“I’m just glad I texted you,” she says, sounding almost shy again. It’s incredibly endearing now that her fingers were just in her cunt.

“I almost didn’t answer.”

Reed snorts a laugh. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

A moment passes before Stella replies. She drapes an arm about Reed’s waist, pulling closer. “But I’m glad too,” she says and slides her thigh between Reed’s legs.


End file.
